Dealer missed free replacement program, that is now expired

[lynnpilg]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Michigan

Car started pulsing anti-lock brakes (ABS) when brake pedal was not pushed. Dealer diagnosed it as a defective wiring harness, and quoted $3,400 to replace it because it's an expensive part and very labor intensive. (Of course, with no guarantee this would fix the problem.) Was advised not to drive, because who knows if the brakes would refuse to work when the pedal was pushed.

Decided not to have it repaired, because that was as much, if not a bit more, the car was worth.

Inherited a different vehicle, just used that one and let the car sit. Now it has all the problems caused by a car sitting undriven for a few years.

Years later after not having been driven, looking to basically get scrap value for the vehicle. Ran across someone who said this part was under an extended customer satisfaction guarantee. (Like a recall, but with a time limit.)

That person was right. Manufacturer issued an extended free replacement guarantee on the wiring harness.

The date on the guarantee is now expired. It was not expired when they diagnosed the problem and made the $3,400 quote.


Do I have recourse against the dealer? I envision liability for the difference in what the car would be (or at the time would have been) worth with the harness fixed and what the car is now worth as scrap.

 

[davew128]

You should have pushed for it to be fixed under warranty at the time. You might try to still get it fixed under warranty since you brought the issue up while under warranty.

 

[justalayman]

An extended customer service warranty is not like a recall but limited in time. Simply put; it is an extension of the warranty on that part. Otherwise the warranty would have covered it but the original warranty had expired.


Since it is a voluntary action by the manufacturer and it is beyond the original period, the manufacturer is under no obligation to even offer the extension let alone be requirred to provide it. They can surely extend it if they so choose but if they don't you have no recourse.

 

[lynnpilg]

You should have pushed for it to be fixed under warranty at the time. You might try to still get it fixed under warranty since you brought the issue up while under warranty.

It was outside the original warranty. Had no idea there was a subsequent customer satisfaction program extended warranty on this specific part, until today. Otherwise would have pushed for it, or just have gone to a different dealer.

Doesn't the dealer have the responsibility for checking the special notices the manufacturer puts out about badly made or designed parts, such as recalls or these extended part warranties?

 

[lynnpilg]

An extended customer service warranty is not like a recall but limited in time. Simply put; it is an extension of the warranty on that part. Otherwise the warranty would have covered it but the original warranty had expired.

No argument here. I The manufacturer's support phone number explained it to me that way, so I relayed it that way.

Since it is a voluntary action by the manufacturer and it is beyond the original period, the manufacturer is under no obligation to even offer the extension let alone be requirred to provide it. They can surely extend it if they so choose but if they don't you have no recourse.

I agree there's no recourse against the manufacturer, but I'm wondering if there is recourse against the dealer for their failure to make the repair under the free replacement program. The manufacturer's support phone number said the dealer's system should have popped up with this program, and they absolutely should have caught it and not told us it would cost $3,400 to fix.

Seems like negligence to me. Dealer had a duty to check vehicle for covered recalls and extended part warranties, and failed to do so. That failure caused the car to not be repaired, which in turn caused damages of the vehicle severely degrading in value.

 

[Zigner]

Seems like negligence to me. Dealer had a duty to check vehicle for covered recalls and extended part warranties, and failed to do so. That failure caused the car to not be repaired, which in turn caused damages of the vehicle severely degrading in value.

I agree about the recalls, but what legal duty is there to check for warranty extensions?

You chose not to have the car repaired. If you would have had it repaired, you could have sought reimbursement from the manufacturer. It was your choice to not have the repair done that caused any degradation in value.